What is "enough" in a camera for you?

[Pieter12]

Maybe a black M5 would be "enough" It's less visible than silver.

And no big red dot (you can easily cover up "L E I C A" on the front with a piece of low-tack black artist's tape).

 

[Moose22]

And no big red dot (you can easily cover up "L E I C A" on the front with a piece of low-tack black artist's tape).

Exactly.

My FM3A and FA get more looks than my black cameras, an F3 and especially the F6. I like the silver, personally, but that color sure screams "Vintage camera, come talk to me" for some reason.

 

[AZD]

My FM3A and FA get more looks than my black cameras, an F3 and especially the F6. I like the silver, personally, but that color sure screams "Vintage camera, come talk to me" for some reason.

Ha, yeah, this does seem to be a real thing. I mostly prefer silver cameras for both looks and price. But almost every time I use one in public I end up talking to someone about it. Not that it's a problem exactly. Some of them have been very friendly and attractive - the sort who wouldn't normally strike up a conversation based on, say, my (ahem) charming personality and good looks. This doesn't happen when I use my N6006. It pretends to be a DSLR until the motor winder kicks in. Which gets closer to the topic...

For me "enough camera" is enough that I can shoot in varying light and not be confused by settings or controls. A decent light meter is nice as well. So, any basic SLR with a fast 50, really. Then add desired features from there to have my ideal camera. I'm not sure what that one is yet.

 

[Moose22]

For me "enough camera" is enough that I can shoot in varying light and not be confused by settings or controls. .

This is biting me right now. I bitch a little about the M3 -- "art photos" from leaving a filter on and hassles setting it with no in-finder meter, etc -- but the fundamental problem there is MY confusing settings and controls because of lack of practice. I don't use the Leica much because it's 66 years old and, frankly, hundreds of dollars more expensive than when I overpaid for it. But the lack of use is part of the problem, I don't have a natural feel for setting it, I have to think too much.

I actually put all my SLRs in the dry box and won't pull them out until I've run a few films through the M3 (since it's out now). I've stuck to using one SLR at a time, too, for the same reason. Where a few often-used features reside, like an exposure lock or DOF preview or speed/aperture on a dial/lens compared to a thumb or finger wheel, just comes naturally after a while. But switching back and forth between very different cameras at the same time makes it confusing. Too much thinking about the camera means not enough about the photograph. Same is true even with a completely manual camera like a Lieca or my C330. Fewer things to set, but you have to think about those settings enough that the workflow no longer takes up brain space.

 

[Pieter12]

This is biting me right now. I bitch a little about the M3 -- "art photos" from leaving a filter on and hassles setting it with no in-finder meter, etc -- but the fundamental problem there is MY confusing settings and controls because of lack of practice. I don't use the Leica much because it's 66 years old and, frankly, hundreds of dollars more expensive than when I overpaid for it. But the lack of use is part of the problem, I don't have a natural feel for setting it, I have to think too much.

I actually put all my SLRs in the dry box and won't pull them out until I've run a few films through the M3 (since it's out now). I've stuck to using one SLR at a time, too, for the same reason. Where a few often-used features reside, like an exposure lock or DOF preview or speed/aperture on a dial/lens compared to a thumb or finger wheel, just comes naturally after a while. But switching back and forth between very different cameras at the same time makes it confusing. Too much thinking about the camera means not enough about the photograph. Same is true even with a completely manual camera like a Lieca or my C330. Fewer things to set, but you have to think about those settings enough that the workflow no longer takes up brain space.

Can't agree more. If you have several cameras from different manufacturers the difference in ergonomics can drive you crazy. Lenses, too. Focus turns clockwise or counter clockwise, diaphragm ring close to the body or near the end of the lens. And digital cameras are the worst, having wheels and menus and multi-function, unlabeled buttons. One reason I never migrated to Canon digital when everyone else did, I am used to where Nikon puts the controls and comfortable with the feel of the cameras.

 

[faberryman]

With film camera prices up now might be a good time to sell all those extra cameras which have the buttons, dials, and switches in the wrong places.

 

[Pieter12]

With film camera prices up now might be a good time to sell all those extra cameras which have the buttons, dials, and switches in the wrong places.

Most are digital and not worth enough to bother to sell.

 

[madNbad]

This is biting me right now. I bitch a little about the M3 -- "art photos" from leaving a filter on and hassles setting it with no in-finder meter, etc -- but the fundamental problem there is MY confusing settings and controls because of lack of practice. I don't use the Leica much because it's 66 years old and, frankly, hundreds of dollars more expensive than when I overpaid for it. But the lack of use is part of the problem, I don't have a natural feel for setting it, I have to think too much.

I actually put all my SLRs in the dry box and won't pull them out until I've run a few films through the M3 (since it's out now). I've stuck to using one SLR at a time, too, for the same reason. Where a few often-used features reside, like an exposure lock or DOF preview or speed/aperture on a dial/lens compared to a thumb or finger wheel, just comes naturally after a while. But switching back and forth between very different cameras at the same time makes it confusing. Too much thinking about the camera means not enough about the photograph. Same is true even with a completely manual camera like a Lieca or my C330. Fewer things to set, but you have to think about those settings enough that the workflow no longer takes up brain space.

Currently I have four cameras, an M4 with three lenses, a Nikkormat FS with two lenses, a Kodak Retina IIa and a Sony A7II with the 21, 35, 50 trio of Zeiss Loxia manual focus lenses plus the FE90G 2.8 Macro that is used mostly for scanning. None of the film cameras have a built in meter,which was a very conscience decision. There have been dozens of different cameras over the years and some of them spent a long time being my only camera, often with just one lens. There were several XAs' that proved to be good enough and most of a decade with a M6 TTL and a 35 Summicron ASPH. When I retired in 2013 and went on a spree. The cameras I wanted in my younger years were cheap and available. A lot was sold off or given away as I tried to work my way back to just one camera. Metered Leica's are great, I just don't have a lot of faith in how long they will have parts available. I love Nikkormat's but that darn resistor ring always seems to have a dead spot. I'm drawn to the Retinas because of their usefulness. I have had several IIc's and IIIc'c but it's the little jewel of the IIa that keeps bringing me back. I have the Sony because I know in a real world situation of an extended road trip, it will be the easiest to use and will produce fine images that can be viewed immediately. It is very good at the current job of scanning negatives. I would have stuck with just the M4 but in a town that still has several labs, the results were less than ideal, service was both slow and expensive. This lead me down the path of developing B&W and scanning my own film. I had a Plustek 7600i, a fine scanner but it was most of an afternoon to work through a roll. Then I tried camera scanning, leading from beat up APSC Sonys' with a 55 Micro Nikkor and an Amazon copy stand to the full blown Negative Supply setup. I've wasted a lot of time and have spent countless dollars on equipment over the years but I believe I have reached the point of, yes, I have enough camera to cover anything I want to do.

 

[George Mann]

With film camera prices up now might be a good time to sell all those extra cameras which have the buttons, dials, and switches in the wrong places.

My FT2 has an intermittent resistor ring and a broken asa lock, but good photocells, with no mechanical issues.

My otherwise nearly mint EL has dead photocells.

I am thinking of sacrificing my FT2's meter circuit to save my EL (worth money?).

 

[4season]

I found another huge hassle with the Leica today. One that really slows me down when I'm out doing street photography. People won't leave me alone.

You must have an approachable demeanor in a way that I don't, because when shooting M3-4-6-8-9, folks rarely expressed any interest in my cameras. I kid you not, my most complimented and commented-upon camera was not a Leica, Rolleiflex or Hasselblad, but a FED-2.

 

[Moose22]

You must have an approachable demeanor in a way that I don't, because when shooting M3-4-6-8-9, folks rarely expressed any interest in my cameras. I kid you not, my most complimented and commented-upon camera was not a Leica, Rolleiflex or Hasselblad, but a FED-2.

That's the thing. I'm usually not all that approachable. I'm large, burly, awkward, pathologically shy, and I have serious resting bitch face. Got that from my dad, people always thought he was mad at them and he was never angry at anyone, ever. Folks who don't know me have always steered clear and I don't really feel the need to chit chat with strangers. It's not uncommon outside of work for me to say no more than enough words to buy a cup of coffee for a couple of days at a time, and it has always been that way.

But in the last two years things have changed. A lot. Starting when people were "allowed" to go outside after the ridiculous house arrest in the spring.

I'd be out with my camera at one of my sunset spots (lots of nice trails around here to take a walk in the evening) and people would stop me and tell me all about their camera, their business, their lives... seriously, their lives. Especially when the governor attempted to close things down in December. I heard a lot of stories last winter. Sitting with a camera on the tripod waiting for the clouds to light up you're kind of a captive audience, I guess, but even when I was climbing on rocks taking pictures of a train handheld I got a life story from a lady on a paddleboard in the lagoon.

At first I was just using my Z6, and I'd get people telling me about all kinds of stuff. And they'd show me photos for some reason. One kid showed me long exposures he'd done during the red tide he had to break the law to go see, others just wanting to show me what they did on their phone the week before. When I got the film cameras, they'd tell me all about the camera they bought in 1990 when they first arrived in America. Or the one they had when they were a kid that they don't remember the brand of, the model of, or know anything about and haven't seen it since the 90s but are sure it's in their parent's attic or something. They were desperate to talk. One lady randomly had to tell me all about Sun Dogs as I was sitting on a seawall watching a cloud formation -- like walked up behind me "Excuse me! Sir, do you know what those are? The rainbows at the edge of the cloud..." She just had to tell someone and felt no restraint in choosing the nearest person. It was all very strange.

These are trails I've walked for 25 years, since before there were actual trails there and I was just climbing over the rocks to watch birds, and for the last 2 decades I often had a camera with me. Before the 'rona damned near nobody but homeless people ever even said hello. Nobody.

So, now, cameras are interesting. And not only are they interesting, but for some reason people feel a solid need to talk to strangers that they didn't 2 years ago. Mostly, it's locals trying to recapture the local feel this town had ten years ago, before it got converted into an awful tourist trap. The village once had a small town vibe and all the locals used to know each other by sight, and after the lockdowns long time residents never really lost the urge to talk to random people they picked up when they were lonely and isolated. The fact that it's after labor day and all the zoners are back in the desert kind of accentuates that local's feel, too.

Also I learned that all the under 25s want to shoot film now. So they spot a "vintage" camera in a heartbeat -- My silver Nikons and especially the Leica. I'm expecting the C330 to get a lot of comments, too, though the waiter and waitress who spotted the Leica both knew all about TLRs. Probably more than I do. That is the biggest surprise in all this.

When I started going analog -- exactly a year and a day ago -- I was doing it after sharing old photographs with musician friends, on a music forum, while we were bored during lockdowns last spring. I had spent the spring taking pictures of lizards on the yard, and was looking to branch out so I decided I wanted something tangible again, actual prints. Then I figured I'd shoot film because why not? I'd thought about it enough to even research some the year before and cameras were dirt cheap in 2019, so it seemed approachable. I got a really nice GX680III kit from a local a year ago, and then an F6, and thought I was the weird one. No inkling anyone else cared about film anymore.

I had no photographer friends shooting film, had no idea it was a trend. I didn't even get a whiff of that until I met a kid from Austin on Exmas Eve, waiting with me for the sunset and chatting.

I bought 3 cameras between Dec and Feb, and EVERYONE wanted to see them. It's a genuine trend amongst the college aged kids I met through a friend at a local coffee shop, and they're all really getting into it this year. They don't notice the F6, but now the silver ones are just catnip for kids who want to shoot film as much as they were for boomers who wanted to reminisce over the winter. I doubt anyone would have approached me if I was doing all this 3 years ago.

 

[faberryman]

That's the thing. I'm usually not all that approachable. I'm large, burly, awkward, pathologically shy, and I have serious resting bitch face. Got that from my dad, people always thought he was mad at them and he was never angry at anyone, ever. Folks who don't know me have always steered clear and I don't really feel the need to chit chat with strangers. It's not uncommon outside of work for me to say no more than enough words to buy a cup of coffee for a couple of days at a time, and it has always been that way.

But in the last two years things have changed. A lot. Starting when people were "allowed" to go outside after the ridiculous house arrest in the spring.

I'd be out with my camera at one of my sunset spots (lots of nice trails around here to take a walk in the evening) and people would stop me and tell me all about their camera, their business, their lives... seriously, their lives. Especially when the governor attempted to close things down in December. I heard a lot of stories last winter. Sitting with a camera on the tripod waiting for the clouds to light up you're kind of a captive audience, I guess, but even when I was climbing on rocks taking pictures of a train handheld I got a life story from a lady on a paddleboard in the lagoon.

At first I was just using my Z6, and I'd get people telling me about all kinds of stuff. And they'd show me photos for some reason. One kid showed me long exposures he'd done during the red tide he had to break the law to go see, others just wanting to show me what they did on their phone the week before. When I got the film cameras, they'd tell me all about the camera they bought in 1990 when they first arrived in America. Or the one they had when they were a kid that they don't remember the brand of, the model of, or know anything about and haven't seen it since the 90s but are sure it's in their parent's attic or something. They were desperate to talk. One lady randomly had to tell me all about Sun Dogs as I was sitting on a seawall watching a cloud formation -- like walked up behind me "Excuse me! Sir, do you know what those are? The rainbows at the edge of the cloud..." She just had to tell someone and felt no restraint in choosing the nearest person. It was all very strange.

These are trails I've walked for 25 years, since before there were actual trails there and I was just climbing over the rocks to watch birds, and for the last 2 decades I often had a camera with me. Before the 'rona damned near nobody but homeless people ever even said hello. Nobody.

So, now, cameras are interesting. And not only are they interesting, but for some reason people feel a solid need to talk to strangers that they didn't 2 years ago. Mostly, it's locals trying to recapture the local feel this town had ten years ago, before it got converted into an awful tourist trap. The village once had a small town vibe and all the locals used to know each other by sight, and after the lockdowns long time residents never really lost the urge to talk to random people they picked up when they were lonely and isolated. The fact that it's after labor day and all the zoners are back in the desert kind of accentuates that local's feel, too.

Also I learned that all the under 25s want to shoot film now. So they spot a "vintage" camera in a heartbeat -- My silver Nikons and especially the Leica. I'm expecting the C330 to get a lot of comments, too, though the waiter and waitress who spotted the Leica both knew all about TLRs. Probably more than I do. That is the biggest surprise in all this.

When I started going analog -- exactly a year and a day ago -- I was doing it after sharing old photographs with musician friends, on a music forum, while we were bored during lockdowns last spring. I had spent the spring taking pictures of lizards on the yard, and was looking to branch out so I decided I wanted something tangible again, actual prints. Then I figured I'd shoot film because why not? I'd thought about it enough to even research some the year before and cameras were dirt cheap in 2019, so it seemed approachable. I got a really nice GX680III kit from a local a year ago, and then an F6, and thought I was the weird one. No inkling anyone else cared about film anymore.

I had no photographer friends shooting film, had no idea it was a trend. I didn't even get a whiff of that until I met a kid from Austin on Exmas Eve, waiting with me for the sunset and chatting.

I bought 3 cameras between Dec and Feb, and EVERYONE wanted to see them. It's a genuine trend amongst the college aged kids I met through a friend at a local coffee shop, and they're all really getting into it this year. They don't notice the F6, but now the silver ones are just catnip for kids who want to shoot film as much as they were for boomers who wanted to reminisce over the winter. I doubt anyone would have approached me if I was doing all this 3 years ago.

I am surprised people can tell the difference between a film camera and a digital camera. I can barely tell the difference between my OM1 and my XT2. They are both about the same size and shape, black, and look like cameras. When you are out with your Z6, and someone comes up to you and asks you if that is a film camera, and you tell them that it is a digital camera, do they just say nevermind and walk away?

 

[Moose22]

I am surprised people can tell the difference between a film camera and a digital camera. I can barely tell the difference between my OM1 and my XT2. They are both about the same size and shape, black, and look like cameras. When you are out with your Z6, and someone comes up to you and asks you if that is a film camera, and you tell them that it is a digital camera, do they just say nevermind and walk away?

That's the thing. It's the silver and black Nikons that draw the attention now. Not the Zs or the F6. I assume people think the black F6 is digital most of the time. Honestly, from a couple feet away I can't tell from the form factor between the F6 and my D7100 or older DSLRs.

I think only one person approaching me has assumed the Z6 was film and she was still interested in it even though it was digital. Usually, with the F6, it is the other way. They assume digital then something trips them to film. Like when I take a picture of their dog and they can't see a preview of it on the back.

But a silver camera, and especially after one or two shots with the thumb to advance the film (my M3 is a double stroke) and people notice.

As for walking away, last year people didn't care if it was a film camera. The just wanted to talk and I was there with a camera on a tripod or whatever. Once they realized it was a film camera they'd start telling me about their camera back in the day. With the digital I'd show them the screen preview if they were interested and they'd tell me about how they were buying an RV and driving around the country before they retired or some such. Last winter was really weird.

This year it's less boomers, and more kids who all want to talk film.

 

[flatulent1]

I just sold all my Nikon gear.
I just sold all my Contax gear.
I just sold all my Fujifilm gear. Except for the GF670.
I also unloaded quite a bit of Canon gear. I kept the T90, 1V, AT-1, AE-1, F1n, FTBn and an assortment of lenses.from 24mm to 85mm.
But when it comes down to it, I could probably get by just fine with a Yashicamat 124G as my sole camera.

 

[CMoore]

I am surprised people can tell the difference between a film camera and a digital camera. I can barely tell the difference between my OM1 and my XT2. They are both about the same size and shape, black, and look like cameras. When you are out with your Z6, and someone comes up to you and asks you if that is a film camera, and you tell them that it is a digital camera, do they just say nevermind and walk away?

I was thinking the same.
The only people that have ever mentioned my "Film Camera" have been other photographers. Never just a random member of society.
I pretty much just shoot "Street Photography".
Several times random people have asked to see the picture i just took, because they think i am using a Digital SLR.
I show them the back of the camera, and they frequently walk away dumbfounded.
They probably think my camera is broken, or it is missing a screen or something.

 

[henryvk]

I live in a fairly metropolitan area, even by European/German standards, and I usually carry a camera around. Here it is not very common for people to comment as chatting up strangers is generally not a thing. And where I live, people are already considered to be much more open and congenial than the rest of the country. Every once in a while, mabye once in 6 months or more, someone will say "oh, a TLR! I used to have a Rollei", but unless you indicate that you want to continue the conversation, people are off with a friendly nod and I like it just fine that way. The (imho important and necessary) lockdowns don't appear to have impacted this pattern of behaviour.

 

[Paul Howell]

Most people would not the difference between a 35mm film camera and a DSLR, but a medium or large format camera stands out.

 

[Huss]

..
Several times random people have asked to see the picture i just took, because they think i am using a Digital SLR.
I show them the back of the camera, and they frequently walk away dumbfounded...

I come prepared:

 

[Sirius Glass]

When I carry my Hasselblad or Pacemaker Speed Graphic, people notice, but not when I carry a Nikon AF camera.

 

[CMoore]

I come prepared:

Do i really look like that.?

 

[Auer]

People notice big clunky cameras. What a surprise.

 

[CMoore]

People notice big clunky cameras. What a surprise.

Or.....................i will put a few pieces of black tape on my camera.
THAT will make it..... and Me.... invisible.
Nobody will notice me holding it to my face, pointing it in their direction and taking their picture.

 

[George Mann]

Or.....................i will put a few pieces of black tape on my camera.
THAT will make it..... and Me.... invisible.
Nobody will notice me holding it to my face, pointing it in their direction and taking their picture.

I just pretend to be invisible and it seems to work.

 

[Pieter12]

Sometimes when I want to shoot candid (street) photography, I will try to look like a tourist. Nobody pays any attention to a tourist with a camera, no matter what the camera--unless it's LF with a tripod, it's expected.

 

[Huss]

Do i really look like that.?

Everyone looks like that IRL.

We just think we are Brad Pitt or Jennifer Aniston...